“HITTING THE BIG LEAGUES”
Across
1 Splendid display
5 Unable to decide
9 Stare in wonder
13 Leaf through
17 Superlative prefix
18 Quick attack
19 Causing the willies
20 Malek of “Mr. Robot” 21 *Discount ticket based on age
23 *Raffle rewards, perhaps
25 Sonata producer
26 Downed with an ax
28 Ration (out)
29 Grain in granola
30 Piece of cake
32 Acknowledge surreptitiously, maybe
34 Pretender
36 Checking account lure
39 Mo. with dog days 41 Winter’s day outburst 42 Most capable
44 One who gives a hoot 45 *Avocado misnomer 48 Investigate again, as a
cold case
51 Itinerary abbr.
52 “Gimme a minute”
53 Part of a journey
56 Gets by
58 Downright or outright 60 Beer with a black eagle in its logo
62 Waze option: Abbr. 63 Playground response 65 Mexican buffet feature
67 Trio for A-rod and Trout
69 *Cause of some back pain
72 Garden rodent
73 Lea Salonga, e.g. 75 Publisher Larry __, portrayal for which Woody Harrelson received an Oscar nomination
76 IOC country code three before Qatar 77 Virtual alter ego
78 Finds
81 Everest expert 84 __ Diego Padres
85 “The Irishman” Oscar nominee 87 Encountered
89 Many Oscar nominees
91 *Pre-wedding bash 94 Olive extract
95 “See ya!” 97 Brouhaha
98 Sweetie, in slang 99 Twitch stream annoyance
101 Civil War general
102 Cried in the cornfield 104 Aficionado
106 Squid’s squirt
107 Inquires
109 Exec’s aide
112 Having significant consequences
116 *It’s not 112-across 119 Leaving the amateur ranks, and a hint to the answers to starred clues
121 B-school subject
122 Autobahn autos
123 Layered veggie
124 __ Millions
125 Puts in stitches
126 Part of a process
127 Golf great Karrie
128 Asian laptop brand
Down
1 Promotional campaign
2 Follow
3 Channel guide, say 4 Hamlet, for one
5 Like salves
6 “For You” co-singer Rita
7 Impulsive
8 Wall St.’s “Big Board” 9 Nat __ Wild: cable
channel
10 Pizzeria allure 11 Bugs in cop shows 12 Held on to
13 Hindu honorific 14 Easy-to-play instruments
15 “To clarify ...“
16 Not quite foggy
18 Hall of Fame quarterback Tarkenton
19 Sitcom sewer worker 22 Garfield’s frenemy 24 Supersedes
27 Dallas Wings’ org. 31 Grass-skirt dance 33 Monotonous sound 35 Yachter’s pronoun 36 Neighbor of Den. 37 Had to pay
38 *Building diagram 40 Building beam 43 Ladybug or weevil 45 “I’ll take that as __” 46 Understanding 47 Feature of Japan’s flag
49 Watch dogs?
50 L.a.-to-tucson dir. 53 *Workforce 54 List-ending abbr. 55 “Chicago” star 57 Unstable subatomic particle
59 Spots for ski racks 61 Romp
64 Amp carrier 66 Language __
67 Degs. for playwrights 68 Bounty rival
69 High seas concern 70 Dry spell at the plate 71 Blood bank category 74 Chicago NFL team’s founder
76 Push-up target 79 Marriage acquisition 80 Alton Brown cooking show“reloaded”in 2018
82 Monetary trifle, in slang
83 La Scala highlight 86 Borrow from a library
88 Disneyland shuttle 90 Sneaky
91 Nap site
92 Engine parts
93 One who scoffs at bagged pekoe, perhaps
95 “No fighting!” 96 Informal “Get me?” 99 Laura of “Big Little Lies”
100 Total mystery
101 Silent performers 103 Line to the audience 105 Blood line
108 Retreats with peels 110 Pack away
111 Adjust for pitch
113 Crude cartel
114 Implore
115 Go sky-high
117 Walk-__: small roles 118 Quick drink
120 Celery piece